After having said I absolutely would not do an LTCL, I now find myself considering one although not any time too soon.

My proposed programme (subject to approval of the Messiaen) is:

Composer: Bach, J S
Work: Partita no. 5 in G major

Composer: Messiaen
Work: Vingt Regard no. 16 - Regard des proph?tes, des bergers et des Mages

Composer: Haydn
Work: Sonata in C, Hob. XVI/50

Composer: Prokofiev
Work: Toccata in D minor


My only question is will I be penalised for a lack of anything Romantic on the menu? I'd rather chew off my arm than play anything Romantic. Learning Liszt's Petrarch Sonnet 123 for the ATCL nearly tipped me over the edge - so schmaltzy!!!

Looks a good program to me Lorraine. I like that Haydn Sonata sometimes known as the London Sonata. I often play it. Still foul up those little double third bits!

Yes, double thirds will not be my strong point, nor will the Partita so I'll have to monitor progress as the Bach is a reasonable chunk of the programme.

Concentration will be the main problem - at several points in the ATCL I found myself thinking "WHEN WILL IT END???!!"

You will not be penalised for lack of Romantic. I'm not including a Classical piece in mine for the same reason as you with Romantic and have been told by 2 examiners that my program is acceptable. I have been given the advice that where DipABRSM/ATCL focus on breadth of styles, any L diploma is more about depth of performance.

Also, congratulations on the distinction at ATCL, but how much of the LTCL repertoire list have you actually studied in depth? There's a huge difference, especially at this level, between allowing yourself space to explore new works and sticking within familiar territory. Not saying you're doing that at all, you might have played every last thing on the list! Just something to think about.

If you stick with the Prokofiev Toccata, you're a braver pianist than me- I considered the Ravel one but have decided it would be too risky.

Well, this is my second go at the LTCL, although I didn't learn any of these pieces before and last time I took it was in 1998 i think. I have started all of the pieces except the Bach. I am aiming to do the exam in Summer 2013 at the earliest, but probably Winter 2013 onwards. No real rush to do it.

Good to know lack of Romantic is not a big deal. The Prokofiev bears some similarities to the Ginastera that I did which was an L piece as it was an own choice so I haven't found that too hard to learn, although I think it will be another 6 months before that one starts sounding good, the same with the Haydn. The Bach is about a year's work and the Messiaen is sorted although I shall be playing that at lots of festivals in the next few months.

I entered the ATCL before I could play all the pieces, but I won't enter the LTCL before it is all at a pass stage. However, I did really struggle with the length of the ATCL so I need to plan lots more public performances under pressure. I only did two run-throughs infront of friends and they felt OK as I was not performing for a 'hostile' audience!

Good luck Lorraine!

Might be worth considering doing a recital or two away from London/SE?

Yes - I definitely need to do a few recitals under pressure and without too many familiar faces in the audience. Anyway, I am not going to think about that for a long time yet!

Gaaaahhhhh this is such an awesome programme!

Good Luck

Thanks! I hope they approve the Messiaen, I'm not sure it's hard enough

Fantastic programme

I heard Messiaen played in concert just a few weeks back, whilst it is very I liked it

I can't wait until I'm planning my piano diploma ... keep looking at the clarinet syllabus (ATCL) thinking, yep I can play that and that and that but don't think I could do a full recital - clarinet puts me in so much pain.

The Messiaen is on the LRSM list, so it should be fine. Yes it's short and has a lot of repetition in it so may seem like there's not much substance to it, but it's actually quite intricately written. Like any Messiaen, you need a really wide colour palette to bring it off. I'm sure I read somewhere that for ATCL you did Regard de la Vierge, so you know this anyway.

I just had a look at LRSM and it is indeed on there, so hopefully it will be approved as I have been working on it for a while now and I can't face learning a different one just yet as Messiaen takes me ages to learn. You are right about the colour palette. It took a long time to get the variety in 'Vierge' but it got there.

Pixie - I would never have enough puff to do a woodwind recital, that must be exhausting!

I respect anyone who can pull off Messiaen - I've never been able to make head or tail of it as a listener, let alone as a performer. And the Prokofiev is completely ridiculous It's interesting to me that you are skipping the romantic era, as most musicians I know favor the romantics over pre-18th or 20th century repertoire, but I think the unusual nature of the programme will serve you well. Best of luck!

I'd like to think I don't fit in thE category of "most musicians".

Good Luck Lorraine.

Thanks, Sunil. Hey, you are just down the road from me!

Yes Lorraine, I pass close by you everyday whilst on school runs (daughter is in St. Anthony's)

Any sign of your ATCL certificate yet, Lorraine?

Hi all

I am also now on the verge of taking my Diploma.
I plan to take my first one in December, either ATCL or DipABRSM, and then take the LRSM in Summer 2013.

However I have found that the ATCL is not an acceptable prerequisite for LRSM, and now I am in limbo as to where to go...

I understand that many consider DipABRSM as much 'harder' than ATCL, but ultimately they are both of level qualification standard, so I would like to ask for any advice here. Is there any chance of the prerequisite list changing to include ATCL as a forerunner to LRSM?

Thanks, sorry if you've heard it many times before...

Do not believe that ATCL is easier than DipABRSM. It isn't. They test different things, and the weightings are different, but they are just as tricky as each other.

I can't see the ABRSM accepting ATCL as a prerequisite any time soon, but don't let that put you off ATCL : I did ATCL (clarinet) because for me, it was the qualification that appealed most to me. Choose the diploma that you want to do on its own merits.

Thanks barry.

I hope I do not sound like I am setting my heights too high, but I would really like to do the LRSM, and I wanted to do the ATCL just to get a different flavour of other boards; all my exams have been ABRSM up to now.

Well thank you for the advice. With absolutely no disrespect to the ATCL, I shall look into the DipABRSM then, one of the pros there is I know a few of the pieces already, yay!

No certificate yet!!

I too had thought about doing LRSM (Im retiring from my job at the end of this month), but my ALCM from 1963 (!) would not be prerequisite. This and the cost of doing it (for no reason than personal satisfaction) has made me drop the idea.

Would Trinity accept the ALCM as a pre requisite for the LTCL?

Would you believe, there are absolutely no prerequistes for LTCL!

That's amazing - good old Trinity, eh?
Got my certificate finally!

Not entirely sure why it took two-three weeks longer for yours to turn up, but there you go...

I nearly split my coffee on it earlier. Must put it somewhere sensible!

I recommend a nice place on the wall : maybe somewhere near your rather nice piano